This application and its disclosure generally relate to the field of patient repositioning mechanisms and methods.
Safe patient handling is one of important aspects of the medical service provided to immobile or limited mobility patients. Where space around the patient's bed is unrestricted, repositioning of a patient from surface to surface is a standard operation. Such repositioning can be performed, for example, by lifting the patient above the transfer surface and then moving him/her to a new position or by performing a lateral transfer, where the patient lying on a sheet is pulled into a new position by a lateral transfer device. Moving a patient in a direction toward a headboard of the patient's bed, however, is a more challenging operation, especially where space and access to the patient's bed are limited.
All currently known lifting devices are heavy and bulky in construction because they have to support a patient's weight in a suspended position. U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,398 B1 (“Wang”) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,325 (“Tesch”) and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0301873 (“White”) disclose such known lifting devices.
Lateral transfer devices which are supported by or attached to a transfer surface are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,323. Such devices can be used for transferring patients from surface to surface, when space around the transfer surface (e.g., patient's bed) is not limited, and when these devices do not obstruct patient service. However, in a typical patient environment, such devices can interfere with patient service and become impediments for medical personnel.
Using the known lifting devices for the sole purpose of transferring a patient towards a headboard is also inefficient because of their cost and difficult because the patient has to be lifted before transfer. Further, when it comes to moving a patient toward the bed's headboard, the existing lateral transfer devices have several major limitations. Specifically, (1) existing devices attached to the bed or existing free standing devices are bulky and need space for positioning and operation behind the headboard; in situations, where space is very limited these devices obstruct service and, as a result, limit the ability to use existing transfer devices; (2) special attachment is needed to connect the transfer device to the bed; (3) transfer device must be quickly removed from the bed to have access to the patient from the side of the headboard in medical emergency situations; (4) operation of a lateral transfer device can be obstructed by other medical equipment typically positioned around the headboard of the bed.
In a typical medical facility, the bed's headboard is positioned against the wall, and space on either side of the bed is often taken by medical equipment and furniture. These space limitations impose special requirements on the construction and method of operating of the patient transfer devices. Specifically, such devices should take the minimum of space and should be available for operation with minimal interference with patient care.
There are several known systems partially solving the problem of repositioning the patient toward the headboard of the bed. For example, one known solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,156,582 teaching an electro-mechanical system which is attached to the headboard of the bed and is operated by a remote control. An advantage of attaching the power unit to the bed is the achieved space saving in front and on the side of the bed. However, this system has several significant disadvantages. Specifically, this system is complicated, expensive and must be modified for various types of attachment to different beds depending on the beds' construction. In a typical medical environment, the repositioning device has to be designed for a fast and easy removal from the bed in case of emergency.
Another example of a patient repositioning system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,323. This system includes manually operated devices attached to the headboard of the bed. While this system is economical, simple, and easy to install and remove from the bed, it also has several disadvantages. Namely, this system requires free space behind the headboard or on a side of the bed for the operator. Where such space is not available, operation of the disclosed devices can be obstructed or limited. Attaching manual or powered transfer devices to the existing mobile and multi-functional beds makes such beds more complicated in operation that is a big disadvantage for a bed with an attached transfer device.
Another patient adjustment, device is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0053698 which describes a transfer system secured to the wall adjacent to the bed. Thus, this system solves one of the above-described problems by disengaging the bed from being directly attached to the transfer device. However, the described system is very bulky and includes a complicated and expensive mounting mechanism specifically adapted to fit the disclosed bulky electromechanical transfer system. Further, this system requires a lot of space between the headboard and the wall, and its complexity is clearly illustrated in the patent drawings and description.